Oishi and Eiji's Uber Cool Pet Shop
by zephyrdjinn
Summary: Eiji and Oishi open a completely reputable pet shop with all kinds of different animals! Dogs, cats, rabbits, snakes, ladybugs, birds and more! Who will come and visit the pet shop? Can Eiji place all the animals into forever homes? Featuring cameos from all your Seigaku friends
1. Opening Time!

**Prince of Tennis and all of the characters belong to Konomi Takeshi**

 _The characters in this story may be read as being in romantic relationships, bromances, queerplatonic partnerships, etc. Whatever makes the reader feel comfortable_

~Some Unspecified Years Into the Future~

Oishi folds a hand over his eyes, slumping down into the well-worn leather couch, as a dull pain throbs over his left eye. Everyone says working in the medical field is one of the most stressful professions on the planet, but those words are absolutely meaningless until you've actually experienced it for yourself. He can already feel his tension headache progressing into a migraine, but has no time to rest because he has to work the night shift in an hour. _Just a 5-minute power nap_ Oishi thinks to himself.

Oishi gets a good 2 seconds of rest before the pleasant sensation of cold leather on his face is sharply contrasted with something furry and warm.

"Nnnn…not now Omelette…Eiji will feed you in a minute" Oishi grumbles, attempting to shove the cat off of his face. But, there's something different about this cat. It feels softer and a lot smaller than their cat Omelette. _Did Omelette lose weight?_ Peaking open one of his eyes Oishi is faced with a small black and white cat that looks nothing like their chubby cat Omelette.

"Eiji!" Oishi yells weakly across the apartment. _Eiji couldn't possibly have brought another one home could he?_

A door slams shut as Eiji hurries out of his bedroom and into the living room. He's not dressed and his attention is focused completely on his smart phone, either texting Fuji or playing that new farming game. Probably the later.

"Eiji," Oishi tries a little more calmly to gain the attention of his red-headed roommate. "Did you bring home another stray cat? We already have one and two dogs…" Oishi says, eyes drifting over to the small black and white cat prancing around their living room. _He really did it again! What did I do to deserve this?_

Noticing Oishi has his ' _I've gotta headache'_ face on, Eiji tries to speak quietly. It comes out in an unnatural yelling whisper tone, but Oishi appreciates the effort.

"But Oishi, this one was really little and hungry! It needed a home. Please, just one more?" Eiji pleads, both hands clasped together like a little kid asking his parent for just _one_ more piece of candy.

"There are places called animal shelters you can take them to. You don't have to bring them _all_ back to our apartment" Oishi offers hopefully.

Ever since Eiji got fired from his job, he's been finding all kinds of tasks to keep him occupied throughout the day. One of his new hobbies is helping out stray animals, which includes bringing them into Oishi and Eiji's tiny shared apartment. Oishi has already had to replace his fish twice since Eiji was fired.

"You mean like an animal pet shop for homeless animals? That's genius! WE could start one of those, Oishi!" Eiji rambles quickly, forgetting momentarily about his roommate's headache.

"But, there are plenty of animal shelters in Tokyo already, Eiji" Oishi adds quickly, covering an ear with his free hand. As much as he likes Eiji, his excited voice is quite earsplitting.

"But, you don't understand, our pet shop is going to be special. It's for _homeless_ animals."

 _That's the exact point of an animal shelter Eiji…ah.. but look at how happy you are. I won't ruin this moment for you. Besides, you really need a job and we need to get all of these animals out of our apartment…Rest in peace my dear fish!_

"Yeah! And we can have all kinds of animals! Like, lizards, snakes, and rabbits. Think about all the poor homeless animals, Oishi!"

 _Those are called wild animals Eiji…_

"And, you'll be the PERFECT animal doctor!"

 _Wait…me? But I'm already employed!_

"Eiji, I already have a job" Oishi mentions, although he knows it's no use now the way he was feeling with his on coming migraine combined with Eji's enthusiasm. He wouldn't even have the will to protest if Eiji told him he decided to become a singing circus clown starting tomorrow. And Eiji is tone deaf.

"But, your job is terrible, you have to work at night, and you look tired all the time. I promise if you work at _Golden Pair's Uber Cool Pet Shop_ you'll never have to work the night shift ever again." Kikumaru nods. "Oh, and Oishi, if you don't agree to it I'll have no choice but to keep bringing the animals back to our apartment" Eiji adds menacingly, well the most menacing Eiji can be that is.

~1 Week Later~

Eiji and Oishi have a slow start to business and it's getting to the point where Oishi begins to wonder if it was worth it to quit his job. Finally after one week they have their first ever customer, Shiraishi Kuranosuke. He comes in looking for a purebred beetle. Eiji has many purebred crickets, ladybugs, caterpillars…all kinds of bugs! (and they are all strays too!) But, he has no beetles, what is he to do, this is his first customer and he doesn't want to disappoint. Eiji has no choice but to distract Shiraishi by showing him some of the stray venomous snakes he found yesterday. While Shiraishi had his back turned, Eiji sprints outside to catch a random beetle using his ultra quick reflexes and bug catching talents. However he is unable to convince Shiraishi it is a purebred, so Shiraishi takes the beetle without paying a single cent.

This is the ultimate low for the duo. They cannot not even get payment for a beetle! They must act fast or else risk the pet shop's closure.

Back at home, Oishi flops down on the couch discouraged. _Things are just as bad, maybe even worse as when I was working at a real job._ _Oh, I mean other job, this is a real job to. Kind of… How did Eiji convince me to start selling venomous creatures again? I mean help them find their 'forever homes.'_ Just as Oishi's about to go down the rabbit hole of negativity, Eiji comes bursting through the living room.

"Oishiii, guess what? Guess what? Fuji just texted me that all of the ex-Seigaku regulars are having a big gathering at Kawamura Sushi this weekend. Tezuka is coming back to Japan for a short visit before his next tour."

 _That must be what that e-mail from Tezuka in my inbox is about. I've been to busy helping 'stray' bugs to open it._

"Don't you see? This is an opportunity for us, Oishi! Now we can tell everyone about our super awesome Pet Shop!" Eiji continues.

"I'm not sure it's appropriate to advertise for our pet shop during Tezuka's party…" Oishi worries, wringing his hands together with a frown. _Maybe we should just close the shop…my other job might still take me back._

"What? But, Tezuka hates all this social stuff. It's perfect! We can take the spotlight off of him for a moment and he'll thank us later. Promise!"

~Kawamura Sushi~

"Everyone! I have an announcement!" Eiji suddenly stands up, waving his hands and arms wildly to gather the group's attention. "Oishi and I opened a pet shop. It's for homeless animals and it has all sorts of really neat pets! Oishi's the pet doctor and I'm the pet caretaker. You guys should come take a look."

"I would go, but you know we aren't allowed pets here. Sorry!" Kawamura apologizes, standing up to refill everyone's glasses of tea.

"Sounds cool. I'll come check it out." Momo speaks through a large mouthful of sushi. "I always wanted a dog"

"Really?" Echizen eyes Momo suspiciously, taking a sip of his Ponta. "A dog?"

 _Oh, right Karupin…_ "A friendly dog that gets along with cats extremely well?" Momo laughs nervously, shoving a few pieces of sushi into his mouth

At the other table, Fuji shifts his body ever so slightly towards the tall stoic man on his left, speaking in a barely audible whisper. "You know who I think could really use a dog, Tezuka?" His mouth turns upwards into a small mischievous grin. The conversation would have gone unnoticed to the former regulars, if it weren't for a certain someone's hyper senses.

"OH! Tezuka should totally get a dog!" Eiji shouts emphatically, loud enough for the entire team and maybe even the neighbors to hear.

Tezuka groans inwardly. Even if he wanted a dog, and he did kind of like dogs, it was impossible for him to think of adopting one now. He lived in Germany, and the thought of all the work involved in bringing a dog back internationally was a nightmare in itself.

"No thanks." Tezuka replies taking a sip of his piping hot green tea.

"Tezuka doesn't have anything against dogs, he's just worried about going through international customs with it." Fuji clarifies; not wanting Eiji to think Tezuka was snubbing him. "I was just messing with him about getting one back there, Eiji. Sorry."

"I mean, that shouldn't be a problem. Ever since I can remember Ochibi's been taking Karupin all over the world. I don't think he had to do anything special."

Echizen nearly chokes on the Ponta he is drinking, spewing some of it in Momo's face. Karupin is the one that always seems to sneak into his bag; he has nothing to do with it. How that cat manages to sneak past security he'll never know.

"Tezuka is much more uptight about the rules than Echizen" Fuji chuckles softly. He can't imagine Tezuka sneaking a dog into his carry on luggage.

"Echizen, no matter how much you love your cat, it isn't safe to simply bring it with your carryon luggage. There are rules and regulations, not to mention –"

"90% chance that Echizen's cat is a special breed of Houdini cat and finds a way to sneak into Echizens luggage without his knowledge" Inui chimes in.

 _Finally, someone who gets it._ Echizen breathes a sigh of relief.

"However, the results are inconclusive. How do you feel about lending Karupin to me for a little experi- ?"

"Don't do it! He's branding a new Inui juice for pets!" Kaidou speaks up suddenly.

Everyone gasps and turns with shocked expressions towards the data man. Everyone except for one person. Fuji looks simply delighted and asks Inui if he has any juice made for cacti to which Inui responds cacti are not pets. As you can imagine, this goes over quite poorly. To settle the matter, the two duke it out on the street courts. Everyone follows them to watch the match and Tezuka's party comes to an abrupt end.

~A Few Days Later~

That long meandering conversation is not enough to convince Eiji Kikumaru that Tezuka can't take a dog on a plane. Because, A. Eiji tuned out of most of the conversation and B. he just found the perfect dog for his former captain! A small, spunky spaniel; perfect for playing catch or hiking up some forlorn mountain. Also, bonus, she's small enough to fit under the airplane seat!

Eiji gazes into the tawny brown spaniel's crate and a weird feeling overwhelms him. _She's such a good dog, friendly and approachable but…every time I look at her…_

A cold shiver runs down his spine and he involuntarily looks away from the spaniel's crate _Tezuka, you super really need to take this dog. You're the only person that can manage to look at a face like that without flinching._

As Eiji is contemplating the spaniel's fate, a tall, burger-loving man walks into the shop.

"I'm looking for a dog, I was hoping you could help me out" Momo says. "You see, I have a bit of a problem. I need a dog that can eat my table scraps, but it also has to get along with Echizen's cat when he comes to visit."

"What?! Table scraps? Momo how could you?" Eiji yells in alarm, arms flailing wildly. Oishi nods his head in agreement from the back of the shop. "I thought you were an expert at finishing your food!"

There is a loud crash as poor Oishi falls over in shock from Eiji's words. "Ah, that's not the real problem here!" Oishi says, rubbing the rather large bump on his head.

Completely not noticing Oishi, Momo simply replies to Eiji, "Don't worry, I always finish my food. I'm just talking about the little stuff. Like, apple peels or bread crusts. You know, stuff no one wants."

"In that case, it should be okay!" Eiji smiles giving Momo a thumbs up "Wait here, I think I know the perfect dog just for you." Eiji quickly runs off full speed to the back of the shop to grab Momo's perfect match.

Meanwhile Oishi's mind is ablaze with worry:

 _Wait, no. This is even worse! You can't just feed a dog whatever you want like that! It needs a strict nutritional regimen. What if Momo accidentally feeds it an onion!_

"Momo, wait!" Oishi calls out, in the strictest tone he can muster. "You can't just feed your dog anything all willy-nilly like that!" Oishi barks, with both hands on his hips. He thinks he sounds tough, but when he uses vocabulary like 'willy-nilly' he sounds pretty much the opposite.

Oishi pulls out a long list of _forbidden foods_ and hands them to Momo.

"No grapes, onions, chocolate…" Momo mumbles, eyes scanning down the long list of items. "This is a long list of food. I'm not sure it's worth it to get a dog anymore." He huffs, rolling his eyes.

Just then, Eiji returned from the back of the shop with a rather large fluffy brown dog in tow.

"How do you like her? Beautiful, right?"

The dog is a warm dark brown that reminds Momo of a burger. Just looking at the dog makes him a bit hungry, and then sad as he remembers all the foods she isn't allowed to eat. Well, Oishi is always so anal about those things and the dog is huge. One burger (sans onions) can't hurt, right?

Oh, and there is the problem with Echizen's cat. How will this dog get along with Karupin?

"Does she get along well with cats?"

"Hmm.. probably! She's such a kind dog, I don't see any problems with that!" Eiji answers, brimming with confidence. But, what Momo doesn't know is that Eiji says every dog is 'such a kind dog,' even the not so nice ones.

Momo decides to name the dog Patty, because she reminds him of a burger patty. When Momo and Patty are on their way home Momo feels so hungry from looking at his dog, he decides to text Echizen to meet him for burgers in five. Momo is too hungry to take Patty back to his house, so they all go to a nearby park to eat. Momo feels bad that Patty has to just watch them eat, so he gives her 'just a little taste.' (Momo's definition of just a taste would make Oishi collapse from shock, so it is a good think he isn't there).

"Fshhu.. what kind of moron feeds his dog burgers. Even _you_ should know better. Fshhuuu" A familiar figure murmurs quietly to himself as he strolls through the park.

。。。

。。。

 **Stay tuned for chapter 2! Who else will visit the pet shop? Will Tezuka ever get his dog?**


	2. Closing Time!

**Prince of Tennis and all of the characters belong to Konomi Takeshi**

 _Fshh.. He probably named it a stupid name like 'burger' or 'patty'_ Kaidou thinks, looking over at the bemusing sight of Momo, Echizen and the big brown dog all eating burgers together.

Just when Kaidou was about to wonder where Echizen's cat is, he felt something soft brush up against his sweaty hairy leg.

The viper transforms into iloveanimals mode, crouching down to scratch Karupin's chin in just the right spot. Kaidou is secretly convinced that Karupin loves him more than Echizen and that's the _real_ reason the cat sneaks out so often.

"Kaidou" The familiar voice of his roommate catches him off guard, and he scoops Karupin up protectively in his arms. Inui was NOT going to kidnap the cat for his experiment.

"Let's adopt a cat, seeing as how you like them so much. 99% chance you will say yes to this request."

"No thanks." Kaidou glares at Inui. Inui isn't trying to be nice. He just wants to try out his new Inui Juice for Pets.

 _This is interesting. I was almost certain Kaidou would say yes._ Inui's eyebrows furrow as he strokes his non- existent beard in contemplation. _Kaidou is so shy, he probably is just embarrassed I found out about him liking animals. But, he is so obvious about it, just look at the way he is cuddling Echizen's cat right now._

"I guess I'll just go to the pet shop all by myself then…"

"What?!" Kaidou bellows, standing up right in distress. "You can't, I'll uh go with you!"

 _I knew it. My data never lies._

"And, seeing as you've never owned a cat before, we should probably keep it in my room. I'll be in charge of feeding it too!" Kaidou says, really emphasizing the word feeding. _And, I'll take it to work and stake my life on keeping it away from your juice damn-it!_

~At the Pet Shop~

"We're here looking for a cat." Inui states simply.

Kaidou means to come with Inui, help him pick out a cat, and protect the cat from anything harmful Inui might try to do to it. However, upon entering the shop the bandana man is immediately distracted by the plethora of adorable animals and wordlessly sneaks off to watch some bunnies in the front of the shop. _Inui will be fine with this part by himself. Yeah…he's a smart guy. Fshuuu_ …. _Bunnies_

"Oh, great! I know just the cat for you" Normally Eiji would have been hesitant about giving Inui a cat, but with Kaidou as his roommate, everything is probably going to be A-OK. Probably.

"Wait one moment, this is a list of the traits we are looking for. The last one is particularly important" Inui says handing Eiji a list that looks like it was ripped straight out of an Inui notebook:

Athletic 30%

Smart 20%

Adventurous eater 60%

"What does this mean? What are the percentages for?" Eiji scratches his head in befuddlement. There is even a small diagram and drawing of what Inui envisions the perfect cat to look like. Black and white. Well, everything in the Inui notebook is written in black pen, so maybe the colors aren't so important.

Before Inui even has the chance to reply, a familiar magenta haired man bursts into the shop.

"I WANT A REFUND!" Marui demands, holding up a black and white cat.

Brows furrowed, arms crossed, Eiji replies, "We don't do refunds!" Eiji tries to look as tough as possible against the unruly customer, which comes off looking slightly ridiculous.

"Well you do now!"

Oishi quickly runs over from the back of the shop to try and defray the argument. "Marui, look I'm sorry the cat didn't work out for you, but we can't do refunds. It was in the contract, you signed it. However, we'd be happy to take the cat back from you if you need that. Again, I am so sorry."

Marui takes in a deep breath in an attempt to cool down a bit. "But, I really really need a refund. Genius II ate all my candy!"

Oishi's face drops. "Let me get this straight. Genius II at _all_ of your candy?"

"Yes, even the really expensive stuff I got imported from Europe. I put it on a high shelf and everything! I literally have nothing left."

"Umm can I please just take a look at him for a bit?" Oishi asks.

"Oh, please take this asshole away!" Marui readily agrees, handing over his naughty cat.

As Marui hands over the cat, Oishi notices two disturbing things. The first being that Marui isn't chewing any gum, not even a simple mint gum. His mouth is just…empty. Well, that explains his terrible attitude, but it also means the cat has eaten absolutely all of Marui's candy. We are talking about pounds upon pounds of candy.

It is then that Oishi notices Genius II looks quite ill. His eyes are darting around the room at an extreme speed and his breath stinks of every sweet imaginable. It is official, he has to be operated on right away or else he might die of Toxic Candy Poisoning. "Please excuse me." Oishi says, sprinting towards the operation room.

"So, does that mean there's no way for me to get my money back?" Marui asks, still more focused on money than his cat's health.

"Well…there is one way…If someone were to buy your cat from you…" Eiji trails off.

"I'll take him, he's perfect." Inui interjects. _Athletic? check. Smart? check. Adventurous eater? check._ "And Kaidou, you can choose one of those rabbits to take home if you wish"

Kaidou blushes profusely as he realizes he has been staring at the bunnies the entire time! What is he doing? He is supposed to be protecting the cats from Inui! Even though he wants to take one home (preferably the bunny that eats a lot really fast, jumps really high, and that he nicknamed Peach) he doesn't. He isn't about to let Inui know he likes them _that_ much. But, he hopes no one adopts Peach for a little while, so he can come and visit.

Genius II makes it through the operation successfully and is handed over to Inui and Kaidou. In order to speed along the recovery process Inui crafts a special 'Surgery Recovery Juice' and feeds it to him when Kaidou has his back turned. It doesn't help much, possibly even exacerbates the symptoms, but ii data.

~Fuji decides to jump on the bandwagon~

" _You_ , adopt a cat? Why this all of a sudden?" Eiji asks in shock when Fuji tells him he is looking to adopt. Fuji does not seem like the kind of person suited to taking care of animals. His apartment has a lot of sharp and pointy plants.

"With Tezuka leaving tomorrow, Hans, my cactus told me he's feeling kind of lonely. I wanted to get him a cat." Fuji answers

"You're getting a cat for your cactus? It doesn't make any sense, nope." Eiji shakes his head. "Maybe you should get another cactus, you're good at growing those!" Eiji says, trying to lead Fuji back towards the door. While he wants all of his animals to find forever homes, he doesn't want to torture them!

"Hans wants something he can have an actual conversation with."

"I'm not sure a cat is the way to go, but whatever floats your boat. " Eiji sighs in defeat, turning around to show Fuji the cats. _Why can't Fuji just get another cactus? Don't cacti just speak Cactuslish or whatever with each other?_

"Hans also says the cat should look good in glasses and be a bit stoic."

"That should be easy! All cats look good in glasses!" Eiji beams. "We have a sale on cat glasses right now too. It's buy one get one."

Later that night, Eiji is sitting in a pasty white room with no one awake to talk to. He's feeling more than a bit bored when Fuji texts him a selfie of him and his new cat. It's a cute photo, the cat does look good in glasses like Eiji thought he would. But, something's strange…the cat's glasses looked eerily similar to a certain former Seigaku tennis captains.

 _OH NO! That's right! Tezuka is going back to Germany tomorrow and he still hasn't come to the pet shop to pick up his dog. The poor spaniel is just sitting in that crate waiting for her forever home._ Eiji thinks, before quickly sending a reply text to Fuji

Eiji:Fuji cute photo XD ~

 **Fuji: Thanks!**

 _Eiji:_ Ur going to see Tezuka off at the airport tomorrow, right? I kinda have an important favor to ask you…Can you pick up the spaniel I was holding on reserve for Tezuka and give it to him for me _? ~_

 **Fuji: Why can't you or Oishi do it?**

 _Eiji:_ I don't want to worry you or anything, but one of the poisonous snakes at the shop bit Oishi and we are at the ER now. I think he'll be fine though. No worries.

 **Fuji: I see. Maybe you guys should just stick to cats and dogs?**

~The following morning~

"Bye Kittymitsu, I'm going to see Tezuka off at the airport. I'll see you in a couple of hours" Fuji bids goodbye to his cat and walks out the door. Kittymitsu does not even return Fuji's send off with a meow, he just sits there still as a rock. He is a stoic cat indeed.

Yesterday right after his conversation with Eiji, Fuji went straight over to Inui and Kaidou's to ask for some of Inui's Ultra Safe Pet Sleeping Juice. It's a method others probably won't approve of, but what they don't know can't hurt them.

Now, with the Pet Sleeping Juice in hand, Fuji enters the pet shop to pick up the spaniel. _Eiji says_ _I'll know which dog it is right away, because it has an interesting expression. Hmm… All dogs sort of have a strange face don't they? They kind of look like they're always smiling._

Fuji knows which dog it is right away, not by the dog's face, but because there is a giant sign on the crate:

TEZUKA'S DOGGIE

"Ah, you must be the one" Fuji murmurs, taking the small dog out of its crate. "How peculiar, your face looks fine to me. I don't see what Eiji is talking about."

Carefully Fuji feds the spaniel some of Inui's juice, which the dog laps up with delight before falling into a deep slumber. _Aren't you precious? A sweet dog with good taste in food? Maybe I should just keep you for myself, fufufu_

Fuji picks the dog up gently and puts her in a blue sparkly gift bag the shop sells. The gift bag is made especially for pets going on long journeys, but Fuji pokes a couple of extra holes in it just to be safe.

~At the Airport~

"Have a safe flight, and here, this is from all the former regulars." Fuji lies. The gift is really just from Eiji, but saying that would make it entirely too obvious what it is. "Don't open it until you get home, and it's pretty fragile so keep it under your seat out of harms way during the flight."

"Thank you, I'll do my best and I won't be careless" Tezuka nods. Tezuka notices the bag is blue, sparkly, and full of holes. Why is it so holy? Since Fuji is handing it to him it could be pretty much anything. But, he does not have time to contemplate this seemingly trivial matter, as he has to hurry and catch his flight to Germany.

~Back in Deutschland~

After arriving safely back home, Tezuka carefully opens the holy blue sparkly bag, wondering with minor anticipation what kind of gift his former teammates have given him. A mild shock greets him when he realizes the bag holds some type of living creature. Upon closer inspection, Tezuka sees that it is a small brown dog. He knew Fuji wasn't handing him a normal gift! How did the dog make it through security? And, what kind of drugs did Fuji give the dog to make her sleep over 10 hours straight?

"It makes sense now why that bag was so heavy." Tezuka whispers quietly to himself as he lifts the still sleeping dog out of the blue sparkly bag. She looks so pleasant when she's asleep, like a dog angel. She stirs in her sleep and yawns, her eyes begin to flutter open and-

 _Her eyes are so unexpectedly blue! That expression looks quite familiar, but I can't place it. This is going to bother me._

"Your eyes are blue, so I'm going to name you Blue."

After taking his dog on a couple of walks he notices people seem to avoid him when he's with his dog. Parents push their children in the opposite direction and take long detours just to avoid the two of them. He doesn't mind, but it puzzles him. Blue is a kind and sweet girl. He e-mails Oishi about his dilemma and Oishi replies that Blue's eyes have _a look of death, matched only by Fuji Syusuke himself_. Tezuka thinks everyone is over-exaggerating just a tad on the whole scary eye thing. He never even thought Fuji's eyes were that creepy. Maybe it is because he is not very good at maintaining eye contact for long periods of time. Maybe it is because he is too busy playing tennis to notice what Fuji's eyes look like. Or, maybe it is simply because he likes the color blue.

Tezuka decides it's better this way. Blue works well as a people deterrent, keeping those large crowds of crazy tennis fans away. Blue and Tezuka live a happy life together, playing dog tennis, climbing mountains, and illegally getting past airport customs.


End file.
